10F project allocations: PMs discover their fate

It's been another busy week here at Fieldbase but all our project managers have put in a phenomenal effort and they've come a long way in a very short time. Now they're ready to go out into Costa Rica & Nicaragua to do some amazing work with their teams of Venturers.

And now they have the information they've all been waiting for: which projects they'll be leading on Phase 1 of Expedition 10F&G.

All of our PMs are currently gearing up for their project planning visits (PPVs), which will take place over the next fews days. The PPVs are an opportunity for the PMs to get a feel for their project sites, make contact with the local people they'll be working with and get started on their risk assessments.

Here's some info on all our 10F projects (that's the 10 week expedition) and their all important PM teams. Read on to the next post for all 10G (5 week expedition) projects.

Alpha 1 (Adventure) - The Maribios Volcanoes Trek
Project Managers: Sofia Carvajal, Lisa Cranfield, Dan Leddy

In the far north of Nicaragua, close to the border with Honduras, this Raleigh group will walk along a mountain ridge through the pine forests above Achuapa. From here you will eventually reach the string of volcanoes called ‘Los Maribios’ which are named after an ancient tribe who lived in the area. You will follow as closely as you can to the line of volcanoes up to the Cosiguina Peninsula for one final volcano ascent. Volcano Cosiguina is the site of the largest volcanic eruption in the history of Americas and from the summit you will hopefully get spectacular views across the Gulf of Fonseca to Honduras and El Salvador. The last day will be spent on the beach and swimming in the Pacific Ocean.

Alpha 2 (Adventure) - The Coast to Coast Trek
Project Managers: Andy Doherty, Louise Stewart, Jonathan Keevins

Starting on the shores of the Caribbean Sea this group will walk across a continent in 19 days to the Pacific Ocean. The trek begins through the Caribbean lowlands, hiking through the jungle at Barbilla National Park before heading to the climb over the continental divide through Tapanti National Park. Once up to nearly 3,000m the group will descend through the stunning cloud forests of Los Santos to the Pacific Ocean at Playa Palo Seco. This trek will be challenging but achievable by all encompassing a wide range of scenery and habitat. It will feel like an awesome achievement to have walked coast to coast and we're sure it will be an unforgettable experience.

Alpha 3 (Environment) - La Cangreja, Costa Rica
Project Managers: Matt Johnson, Jemma Bingham, Margit Takacs

La Cangreja is Costa Rica’s newest National Park which owes its name to the striking 1,305 metre peak Cerro Cangreja. The park has a mixture of Tropical Humid forest and Pre-Montane forest with a number of species of plant found nowhere else in the world which makes the area important for research purposes and for conservation. The park is also blessed with amazing waterfalls only to be found through exploring the forest. At present the government is developing the facilities in the park and during the expedition Raleigh venturers will build a viewing platform near to the main park headquarters that looks over the national park and a trail for local school groups and other visitors.

Alpha 4 (Environment) - Golfito, Costa Rica
Project Managers: Helen Butler, Greg Oldfield

Located in the far south of the country, Raleigh will be working on an important project to develop this stunning wildlife reserve. Golfito wildlife reserve abounds with animals, birds, insects and plants. The reserve acts as a biological corridor between many neighbouring protected areas. This reserve is in the process of being converted into a national park and at present has almost no visitors facilities. The plans for this reserve include building trails in the forest as well as a trail for wheelchair users. The year the Costa Rican National Parks day is going to be celebrated in this park and Raleigh will be working to help build the trails and develop the park.

Alpha 5 (Community) - Achuapa, Nicaragua
Project Managers: Lisa Rushforth, Euan Platt, Darshana Bhattacharjee

High in the hills above Achuapa, in one of the poorest most remote areas of Nicaragua, Raleigh will be working on a series of small projects to bring clean and safe drinking water to 50 families in the community of Rio Arriba. At present the local people get their water from the river which often dries up in summer or comes from polluted water sources. This project is a multi-stakeholder partnership with the local community, the Cooperativa Juan Francisco Paz Silva, Nottingdale International and Raleigh. The group will be working with the local population to dam small streams, build tanks to collect the water from where it can run through pipes to all the local houses. The benefits of clean water will be felt by many generations to come. The participants will be living directly with families in the village and will help out with their day to day tasks.

Alpha 6 (Community) - Miraflor, Nicaragua
Project Managers: Helen Jacobs, Nuria Rivero, Cat Feltham

The Miraflor reserve is 206 sq km of beautiful mountainous terrain with various different ecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloud forest. Within the reserve there are a number of communities living through subsistence farming and gaining income from coffee growing, cattle farming and some small tourism initiatives. However the people have few resources and lack access to basic services such as health and education. On this project the participants will be building a community centre in the community of La Naranja de Tayacan which will be used for community meetings, cooperative meetings, adult education, pre-school education and recreational activities.

And Zoe West will be our Fieldbase medic during Phase 1.